All five winners once again earned
Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts on
Week 4, Season 10 of
Dana White's Contender Series.

Dana White signs Adam Livingston, Gabriel Lourenco, Silvestre
Sanchez, Modestino Rodrigues and Adam Darby

Week 4 of DWCS 2026 went down on Sept. 1 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas.
Adam
Livingston (8-1) and Hunter
Smith (8-2) kicked off the action in a lightweight bout.
Livingston edged out a split decision victory after a
back-and-forth slugfest, earning a UFC contract in his second DWCS
appearance after a failed attempt last year. Dana
White said that he had no idea who won the fight before the
result was announced.

“Great fight. I had it 1-1 going into the last round,†White said.
“Me and the matchmakers had no idea who won. Split decision
announced. Congratulations, we're bringing you [Livingston] into
the UFC.â€

Gabriel
Lourenco (8-1) took on Charlie
Cleveland (6-2) in a heavyweight matchup on Week 4 of DWCS
2026. Lourenco looked flawless, dropping Cleveland with a right
hand and finishing him with hammer-fists in the first round. White
hailed Lourenco as a new threat in the heavyweight division,
awarding him a UFC contract.

“Gabriel, all I can say to you is incredible performance,†White
said. “UFC has a new 26-year-old heavyweight beast. Welcome,
Gabriel.â€

Silvestre
Sanchez (10-1) and Liam
McCracken (8-2) delivered a barnburner in their lightweight
tilt. Sanchez found momentum in the second round before knocking
McCracken out cold in the final round. White gave Sanchez a UFC
contract while admitting that he initially thought the Mexican was
too green for the big stage.

“Sanchez, this was a tough one for me,†White said. “I swear to
God, there was like 2:15 left in the round, and I was sitting there
thinking, ‘This is a great fight, Liam's a tough kid. But Sanchez
is only 24 years old. Maybe he needs some more experience.' And
then boom! When you come on this show, don't let me say. ‘Maybe he
is too young, maybe he is this, that.' Get your a** over here,
you're in the UFC.â€

Modestino
Rodrigues (8-1) came out all guns blazing from the opening bell
of his middleweight bout against Brandon
Holmes (6-2). Rodrigues took just 15 seconds to drop Holmes
with a right hand before referee Chris Tognoni called a highly
controversial stop to the fight. While White called it one of the
worst stoppages in DWCS history, he gave Rodrigues a UFC contract
for doing his job perfectly.

“Rodrigues, one of the worst stoppages I've ever seen on the
Contender Series,†White said. “Horrible stoppage by the ref. Not
your fault. You were doing your job and doing what you were
supposed to do. You were all over this guy. Come on over here.â€

Adam
Darby (8-1) and Patrick
Rivera (13-5) met in a welterweight clash in the main event.
Darby brutally beat Rivera down, leaving him damaged enough for the
cageside doctor to stop the fight midway into the final round.
White acknowledged Rivera's grit while awarding Darby a contract
for his destructive masterclass.

The UFC CEO admitted that he had predicted Darby would finish the
fight with leg kicks before he saw Rivera absorbing them without
any reaction. White believes Rivera's corner should have thrown in
the towel.

“Patrick Rivera, you're one of the toughest human beings that I've
ever seen in my life,†White said. “And Adam, I told the
matchmakers in the first round, ‘This guy is gonna finish this
fight with leg kicks.' An absolute masterclass with leg kicks. And
setting up other ways to do damage off the leg kicks. That was
before I realized Patrick Rivera was a cyborg. The guy never
limped, he never flinched; he didn't switch stances. Thank God the
ref stopped that fight; his corner should have stopped that fight.
But you systematically just broke this guy down. Absolutely
surgical. Welcome to the UFC.â€

5 new faces to the UFC!

All 5 winners from #DWCS
tonight are getting signed to the big show! ðŸ‘

[ #DWCS
| LIVE on @ParamountPlus
] pic.twitter.com/cs8tSLBKH8

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
September 2, 2026

Adam
Livingston believes he can sell out Madison Square Garden.

Livingston (8-1) opened
Week 4 of
Dana White's Contender Series 2026 with a lightweight matchup
against Hunter
Smith (8-2). He went toe-to-toe in a slugfest against Smith for
three rounds, earning an
Ultimate Fighting Championship contract in his second DWCS
opportunity.

Adam Livingston targets UFC's November MSG card after earning
his contract on DWCS

Livingston says he wasn't in his best shape when he came up short
in his first DWCS appearance last year. The 25-year-old believes he
is gradually coming into his prime now. Livingston also aimed high
by calling for a main card opener spot at the UFC's Madison Square
Garden card in November. The New Yorker believes he has enough fans
to sell out MSG by himself.

“This is my f*cking time, guys,†Livingston said in his post-fight
interview. “I'm 25 years old now, I'm growing into my body, I'm a
f*cking man now. Last time I was 23, coming off a f*cking trip;
that wasn't my best performance. You guys got one of the best
versions of me today and it's just the beginning. I'm coming for
all you f*cking lightweights… I want MSG in November. I want to
open up the main f*cking card. And I will put on a show like that
every f*cking time. I'm from New York, I'll pack out the f*cking
place by myself.â€

SPINNING BACKFIST INTO THE HEAD KICK 🤯

[ #DWCS
| LIVE on @ParamountPlus
] pic.twitter.com/seCXcCJ6IG

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
September 1, 2026

Gabriel
Lourenco claims he was confident about a knockout win after
studying tape on his
Dana White's Contender Series opponent.

Lourenco (8-1) took on Charlie
Cleveland (6-2) in a heavyweight matchup on
Week 4 of DWCS 2026. Lourenco took hardly over two minutes to
drop his opponent with a right hand before dropping vicious
hammer-fists to secure a stoppage win. The 26-year-old earned an

Ultimate Fighting Championship contract for his first-round
knockout.

Gabriel Lourenco explains the flaw he spotted before his
first-round knockout

Lourenco had predicted a first-round knockout victory ahead of his
DWCS appearance. “Black Mamba†credits his
Chute Boxe coach, Luciano
Ferreira, also known as “Mutante,†for his opponent analysis.
Lourenco had observed that Cleveland never tucked his chin, making
a knockout inevitable at some point.

“We had been studying him throughout,†Lourenco said in his
post-fight interview. “Coach Luciano ‘Mutante' is right here… We
always knew his head was held high; we knew that at one point [my
right hand] was gonna go in… Representing Luciano, representing
Chute Boxe will be honor. I want more knockouts like this.â€

Lourenco ultimately won a contract for his knockout win.

RIGHT HAND HITS HOME ðŸ 

Gabriel Lorenco gets the TKO in R1 for a huge win!

[ #DWCS
| LIVE on @ParamountPlus
] pic.twitter.com/IVoLAMmJzz

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
September 1, 2026